Chapter 3 - “A Symbol of Hope”

That night, they gathered within the ruined structure of the destroyed Marek home. Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan stood at one edge of the worn, circular meza, jedwali that was positioned near one curving ukuta of the hut, beside his daughter, princess Leia. Facing him were senators Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis, of Chandrila and Corellia respectively, together with the aging Jedi general Rahm Kota. Pilot Juno Eclipse and the droid PROXY remained respectfully on the sidelines, watching solemnly as the proceedings that should have taken place on Corellia unfolded. But...

Chapter 4 - The sekunde Revival

The first conscious thought that drifted across his unresponsive mind was not “What happened?” au even “Where’s Juno? Kota?”

It was, “Why the Force am I still alive?”

In fact, he had no conclusive proof that he was, indeed, still living - his senses, almost all of them, seemed to have been put on mute. But the slow realization that every square centimeter of his body felt as if it had been specially selected for a high magnitude beating was, from his numb view, a fairly good indication that the Force had not yet claimed him. It just didn’t seem logical...

Prologue

Rahm Kota’s cry of shock rose above the debris scattered across the kiti cha enzi room of the Emperor’s tower, ravaged kwa the desperate conflict that had only moments zamani ceased between Galen Marek and Darth Sidious. Razor-edged shards of glass glittered wickedly across the floor, partially concealing the scorched marks that were scored into every surface. The twisted bodies of the Emperor’s Royal and Imperial Guards were sprawled limply along the chamber’s perimeter, a mute testament to the ferocity of the battle.

Kota yelled in pain as the Emperor, only moments before seemingly defeated,...

Chapter 1 - “The Force is Mocking Me”

Rahm Kota swore softly as he carefully stepped into the close to destroyed room, after checking that neither a Sith nor Imperial presence was nearby. The damage was unbelievable - the place seemed as if it could collapse at any moment. The squad of stormtroopers had been utterly annihilated, their corpses singed and mangled. But the two bodies he longed to see most were not here….

Juno, behind him, let out a small gasp.

“I didn’t know anyone could do this much damage all on their own.”

“That’s the Force for you,” Kota replied, scanning the...

Chapter 2 - PROXY’s Return

For Juno, the following two weeks progressed encased in erratic leaps of time. At some points, the moments passed with almost painful slowness, while other spans whipped kwa so speedily that she found it was only with great difficulty that she could look back and recall them at all. General Kota had flatly vetoed Senator Organa’s original plan to head directly to Corellia - cloaking device au not, the Empire would doubtless be in vigilant tafuta of the Rogue Shadow, and the old Jedi felt it prudent to avoid populated systems for a while. A tactically sound plan...

Chapter 6 - In the Cantina

Galen had never been to Tatooine - it was an unremarkable Outer Rim world, with only a handful of large settlements; and as an assassin for Vader, he had found his targets mostly around the Core, and Inner and Middle Rims. As far as he knew, Imperial forces hadn’t even bothered to set up a station on this remote desert planet, which meant he needed to be prepared for encounters with all types of sentients - such a haven from the Empire would naturally attract criminals and fugitives alike. And, he had to admit, it was a very good place to disappear to, if wewe were...

Chapter 5 - “I Can’t Get Involved”

A week au so later, thanks to Master Kota’s ministrations, Galen had recovered significantly - he was almost fully mobile, though his reflexes were slightly dulled from two months of incapacitation and he took care, at least while in sight of Kota, not to exert himself with overly taxing physical feats. Inwardly, however, he was beginning to peak with instinctive frustration that his body was still weakened. To ease this feeling of vulnerability, as well as to occupy himself while General Kota was busy with detailed strategies for the continued existence...